Dinner for Two

Arlene Evans
Echelon Press Publishing (2005)
ISBN 1590804368
Reviewed by Shaila Abdullah for Reader Views (3/06)

Floral artist Misty Jones comes through for delicatessen business owner Gene Haynes in this charming romantic comedy. Like pepper and lemon thrown together in an exotic dish for an enduring flavor, Evans captures the emotional turmoil of the two main characters brilliantly.

Gene is a delicatessen owner who takes pride in his work, but feels emasculated by his color blindness, and Misty, a young florist, is looking for a new direction in life when she stumbles upon a temporary job at Gene’s restaurant, which she takes on to make ends meet. She tries to jazz up Gene’s restaurant with her floral creations, adding some warmth and color to his business while enjoying his culinary endeavors. Gene’s two catering events end in disaster because of Misty and surprisingly results in a stronger bond between the two. They constantly hedge around intense feelings for each other and fight to keep a professional front until the food poisoning episode threatens Gene’s business. In a dramatic portrayal of bravado, Misty helps in restoring the good name of the restaurant and in the process finds true love.

Evans attempts to capture the sights and sounds associated with the surroundings. In one case, she describes the western sky blushing with a lavish show of color. Such little pieces of imagery are interspersed throughout and add value to the novel. Evans keeps up the pace with fun filled repartee between the characters and conflicts and events that leave not a dull moment in the book. The other characters lack the complexity and depth that was put into developing the main characters but add a flavor to the story nonetheless. It’s an enjoyable debut novel by Evans that brings class to romantic comedy even as it touches upon the sensitive subject of color vision deficiency.

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